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Alan Lightman Quotes

I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring highly distorted worlds Picture Quote #1

Another strand of my writing is the importance of the idea. If you think about fiction writing as a spectrum, where at one end of the spectrum in the infrared, are the story tellers, and the people for whom creation of wonderful characters and telling a good story is the most important thing Picture Quote #1

I am spellbound by the plays of Shakespeare. And I am spellbound by the second law of thermodynamics. The great ideas in science, like the Cro-Magnon paintings and the plays of Shakespeare, are part of our cultural heritage Picture Quote #1

The Book of Telling tells of a woman’s journey to uncover the secret life of her father and to find herself in the process, an unusual counterpoint between personal history and the history of a young nation. Haunting, powerful, and beautifully written Picture Quote #1

As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has no way of knowing whether God exists or not. The belief or disbelief in such a Being is therefore a matter of faith Picture Quote #1

If you over-plot your book you strangle your characters. Your characters have to have enough freedom and life to be able to surprise you Picture Quote #1

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No one knows the nature of God, or even if God exists. In a sense, all of our religions are literary works of the imagination Picture Quote #1

I’ve taken a philosophical position on e-mail. Although I think it’s a wonderful communication technology, and it has a lot of good uses, it is abused quite a lot Picture Quote #1

I think e-mail is representative of our fast food mentality in the United States, where everything has gotten faster and faster, and we’re required to respond to inputs more quickly with less time for thought and reflection. I believe that we need to slow down Picture Quote #1

I think all tragedies are best told with some humor. You have to relieve the darkness to let the reader get through it. Also, that life has happiness and sadness mixed together. If you told a story that was all darkness, it wouldn’t be real Picture Quote #1

As a scientist, I don’t believe science will ever discover whether God exists. Nor do I believe religion will ever prove it Picture Quote #1

All writers have roots they draw from - travel, work, family. My roots are in science and it is fertile ground for fiction Picture Quote #1

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In this world, artists are joyous. Unpredictability is the life of their paintings, their music, their novels. They delight in events not forecasted, happenings without explanation, retrospective Picture Quote #1

In fiction writing, I would say there are several different strands that have been woven through my own writing, and each influenced by a different group of writers Picture Quote #1

Every essay - the subject matter of every essay - is ultimately about the essayist; him or herself. That ultimately, every essayist is writing about his or her view of the world Picture Quote #1

I consider myself an essayist and a fiction writer. In the essays, I certainly have been influenced by some of the leading science essayists. Like Loren Eiseley, Stephen Jay Gould, Lewis Thomas Picture Quote #1

We often do not see what we do not expect to see Picture Quote #1

For my students who are trying to learn the craft of writing in a writing class - contemporary literature is what’s most useful Picture Quote #1

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My second novel, Good Benito, was not finished. I wished that I had spent another year with it Picture Quote #1

I wouldn’t overall say that The Diagnosis it’s a funny book. I would say that it has comic moments. It’s a modern tragedy Picture Quote #1

In fiction writing ideas have to be handled extremely carefully. You can’t let your characters just be mouthpieces for your ideas. They have to live and breathe on their own Picture Quote #1

In fiction writing, I would say there are several different strands that have been woven through my own writing, and each influenced by a different group of writers Picture Quote #1

Novels aren’t pedagogical instruments, or instructions in law or physics or any other discipline. A novel has to be an emotional experience, a trip of the imagination, and because science has raised so many issues that concern and affect humans, it’s a good starting place for me Picture Quote #1

A life is a moment in season. A life is one snowfall. A life is one autumn day. A life is the delicate, rapid edge of a closing door’s shadow. A life is a brief movement of arms and of legs Picture Quote #1

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Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way Picture Quote #1

I think it is always a long shot getting a book made into a film. Making that book into a film is going to be quite a challenge Picture Quote #1

That’s the fine balance of a fiction writer...to be able to give your characters enough freedom to surprise you and yet still maintain some kind of artistic control Picture Quote #1

I should have written books instead of reading them Picture Quote #1

Time is the clarity for seeing right and wrong Picture Quote #1

Continents of memory had been lost Picture Quote #1

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I have for a long time loved fabulist, imaginative fiction, such as the writing of Italo Calvino, Jose Saramago, Michael Bulgakov, and Salman Rushdie. I also like the magic realist writers, such as Borges and Marquez, and feel that interesting truths can be learned about our world by exploring highly distorted worlds (Alan Lightman Quotes) Another strand of my writing is the importance of the idea. If you think about fiction writing as a spectrum, where at one end of the spectrum in the infrared, are the story tellers, and the people for whom creation of wonderful characters and telling a good story is the most important thing (Alan Lightman Quotes) I am spellbound by the plays of Shakespeare. And I am spellbound by the second law of thermodynamics. The great ideas in science, like the Cro-Magnon paintings and the plays of Shakespeare, are part of our cultural heritage (Alan Lightman Quotes) The Book of Telling tells of a woman’s journey to uncover the secret life of her father and to find herself in the process, an unusual counterpoint between personal history and the history of a young nation. Haunting, powerful, and beautifully written (Alan Lightman Quotes) As long as God does not intervene in the contemporary universe in such a way as to violate physical laws, science has no way of knowing whether God exists or not. The belief or disbelief in such a Being is therefore a matter of faith (Alan Lightman Quotes) If you over-plot your book you strangle your characters. Your characters have to have enough freedom and life to be able to surprise you (Alan Lightman Quotes) No one knows the nature of God, or even if God exists. In a sense, all of our religions are literary works of the imagination (Alan Lightman Quotes) I’ve taken a philosophical position on e-mail. Although I think it’s a wonderful communication technology, and it has a lot of good uses, it is abused quite a lot (Alan Lightman Quotes) I think e-mail is representative of our fast food mentality in the United States, where everything has gotten faster and faster, and we’re required to respond to inputs more quickly with less time for thought and reflection. I believe that we need to slow down (Alan Lightman Quotes) I think all tragedies are best told with some humor. You have to relieve the darkness to let the reader get through it. Also, that life has happiness and sadness mixed together. If you told a story that was all darkness, it wouldn’t be real. (Alan Lightman Quotes) As a scientist, I don’t believe science will ever discover whether God exists. Nor do I believe religion will ever prove it (Alan Lightman Quotes) All writers have roots they draw from - travel, work, family. My roots are in science and it is fertile ground for fiction (Alan Lightman Quotes) In this world, artists are joyous. Unpredictability is the life of their paintings, their music, their novels. They delight in events not forecasted, happenings without explanation, retrospective (Alan Lightman Quotes) In fiction writing, I would say there are several different strands that have been woven through my own writing, and each influenced by a different group of writers (Alan Lightman Quotes) Every essay - the subject matter of every essay - is ultimately about the essayist; him or herself. That ultimately, every essayist is writing about his or her view of the world (Alan Lightman Quotes) I consider myself an essayist and a fiction writer. In the essays, I certainly have been influenced by some of the leading science essayists. Like Loren Eiseley, Stephen Jay Gould, Lewis Thomas (Alan Lightman Quotes) We often do not see what we do not expect to see (Alan Lightman Quotes) For my students who are trying to learn the craft of writing in a writing class - contemporary literature is what’s most useful. (Alan Lightman Quotes) My second novel, Good Benito, was not finished. I wished that I had spent another year with it. (Alan Lightman Quotes) I wouldn’t overall say that The Diagnosis it’s a funny book. I would say that it has comic moments. It’s a modern tragedy. (Alan Lightman Quotes) In fiction writing ideas have to be handled extremely carefully. You can’t let your characters just be mouthpieces for your ideas. They have to live and breathe on their own. (Alan Lightman Quotes) In fiction writing, I would say there are several different strands that have been woven through my own writing, and each influenced by a different group of writers. (Alan Lightman Quotes) Novels aren’t pedagogical instruments, or instructions in law or physics or any other discipline. A novel has to be an emotional experience, a trip of the imagination, and because science has raised so many issues that concern and affect humans, it’s a good starting place for me. (Alan Lightman Quotes) A life is a moment in season. A life is one snowfall. A life is one autumn day. A life is the delicate, rapid edge of a closing door’s shadow. A life is a brief movement of arms and of legs. (Alan Lightman Quotes) Every reader gets something different from a book and every reader, in a sense, completes it in a different way. (Alan Lightman Quotes) I think it is always a long shot getting a book made into a film. Making that book into a film is going to be quite a challenge. (Alan Lightman Quotes) That’s the fine balance of a fiction writer...to be able to give your characters enough freedom to surprise you and yet still maintain some kind of artistic control. (Alan Lightman Quotes) I should have written books instead of reading them (Alan Lightman Quotes) Time is the clarity for seeing right and wrong (Alan Lightman Quotes) Continents of memory had been lost (Alan Lightman Quotes)

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